CCD MI-6: Performance in a 6.7L MIcrotower

Okay a few things to report---

Got black zinc plated steel screws for cover attachment, -they look great.
I have finalized the front plate attachment. Using 6-32 ss flat head socket screws. Nice and small, and flush. Had tried other ideas, but most had poor surface finish (black oxide, poor quality black ss, etc).
Here are renders of the finalized configuration (showing the front I/O which is optional):
9ApoWcSl.jpg


P4pajg2l.jpg
 
Firewolfy said:
Okay a few things to report---

Got black zinc plated steel screws for cover attachment, -they look great.
I have finalized the front plate attachment. Using 6-32 ss flat head socket screws. Nice and small, and flush. Had tried other ideas, but most had poor surface finish (black oxide, poor quality black ss, etc).
Here are renders of the finalized configuration (showing the front I/O which is optional):
9ApoWcSl.jpg


P4pajg2l.jpg
Click to expand...

Have to say I like this design the best. Personally I prefer this vent design. The counter sunk screws look good and the IO on the left I think looks much better than the middle. I am hoping the final version has a finish like in the render, not a huge fan of the glossy/textured look.
 
Firewolfy said:
Okay a few things to report---

Got black zinc plated steel screws for cover attachment, -they look great.
I have finalized the front plate attachment. Using 6-32 ss flat head socket screws. Nice and small, and flush. Had tried other ideas, but most had poor surface finish (black oxide, poor quality black ss, etc).
Here are renders of the finalized configuration (showing the front I/O which is optional):
9ApoWcSl.jpg


P4pajg2l.jpg
Click to expand...

Possibility for countersunk screws on the side panel...?

Black hardware would be best though...

Possibility to revisit having the USB ports black rather than blue...?

Would make for a nice all black chassis...!

I can see a Ryzen R7 1700 CPU & RX Vega Nano GPU in here, with a 1TB Samsung 960 EVO M.2 NVMe SSD (with the EK passive heatsink assembly)...!!!

But the temps are what concern me most (CPU, GPU & M.2)...
 
Firewolfy said:
11/18/2016 -- Some pricing estimates: Cost target is $200 or less for a 30 pc first run. Larger runs of 100pc would bring the cost to about $150.
Click to expand...


Fire - I'm interested in pre-ordering however I've got two questions:

1. How close are you to a larger order (for a potential cheaper estimate)
2. Where are you based and where would the cases be shipped from?

The reason I'm asking is because I'm based in Sweden and I usually get hit by quite expensive import fees when ordering from the US. :)

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: eggDK
like this
shogou said:
Fire - I'm interested in pre-ordering however I've got two questions:

1. How close are you to a larger order (for a potential cheaper estimate)
2. Where are you based and where would the cases be shipped from?

The reason I'm asking is because I'm based in Sweden and I usually get hit by quite expensive import fees when ordering from the US. :)

Thanks!
Click to expand...

shogou--
I am only thinking about a small first run right now. I hope to get cases out to reviewers then.

I am in the US, so your shipping will be a bit brutal.
 
Latest design looks great! I agree with everything Boil said about black hardware, black sunken screws on the sides, and black USB ports. Also dislike the shiny front panel from earlier picks (reminds me of old refrigerators), something with a fine, matte texture (or brushed) would be cool.

I'm happy to hear you're U.S.-based and definitely planning to get one (or three) once production starts!
 
USB port colors have meaning. Black is USB 2, Blue is 3, Red is USB 3 Gen 2. Yellow designates special charging capability.

black USB port dust cover?
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Version 5 you say? Well, im not the USB port color police. I personally think with tiny cases, no front ports for easier modding is best. Of course still have the front ports in rear for extra USB ports and sound outputs. Near top where you can easily feel them out. Its such a tiny case. Moved to an ASRock Deskmini with i7-7700 so im out of the game for now.
 
For those who want the MI-6 with a minimalist uncluttered front (without the front I/O and power button), I have been working on a good power switch solution on the back of the case.
Std power buttons I have looked at have been either bare switches that would have to be DIY wired, and connections soldered or crimped, shrinktubed (maybe not a word, but hey) and maybe sleeved, Or get some monstrosity with a 60cm cable to wrap around the MB a couple of times. Well I got this sample, which looked pretty good, but no sleeving, and the supplier didn't have a ROHS program, which is kind of required to sell things around the world.
FrPFcNhm.jpg

So I moved on to another supplier. Which has ROHS certification and was willing to customize their switch offerings to give exactly what was needed. A vandal switch with blue LED ring, black housing, 25cm cable, labeled MB connectors, shrink tubing and sleeving.
Here she is:
1BIq8d8.jpg
6LxFiM3.jpg

The above sample pic (from early last week) is one iteration behind; The final switch cable will have the 25cm cable length (I think the pic is about 40cm) and quite a bit less shrink tubing. They went a bit crazy on that for some reason, so I had to let them know that flexibility is kinda important for the cable. The sleeving is pretty generic grey, but that is ok, it will blend in. You can see their website imprint there. I'm not ready to endorse them, but so far they are responsive.

So the back of the case will look something like this:
xadT8yp.jpg


Other news:
The design is finalized (with a few sweet surprises to share soon), and there are now 52 sign-ups on the interest / pre-order list. So it looks like there is enough interest to move with a first run!!

To that end, I have set up my little business with the state, set up business banking, and have re-quoting underway. The pricing looked about as planned, appox $200, but I can't commit until I get new quotes back. The previous quotes had expired, and minor changes have occurred in the last few months, so I kinda had to redo this process.

I am working on a formal pre-order form, and will get that out as soon as the quoting is solidified and I can give you clean pricing.

Fire!
 
Firewolfy said:
For those who want the MI-6 with a minimalist uncluttered front (without the front I/O and power button), I have been working on a good power switch solution on the back of the case.
Std power buttons I have looked at have been either bare switches that would have to be DIY wired, and connections soldered or crimped, shrinktubed (maybe not a word, but hey) and maybe sleeved, Or get some monstrosity with a 60cm cable to wrap around the MB a couple of times. Well I got this sample, which looked pretty good, but no sleeving, and the supplier didn't have a ROHS program, which is kind of required to sell things around the world.
FrPFcNhm.jpg

So I moved on to another supplier. Which has ROHS certification and was willing to customize their switch offerings to give exactly what was needed. A vandal switch with blue LED ring, black housing, 25cm cable, labeled MB connectors, shrink tubing and sleeving.
Here she is:
1BIq8d8.jpg
6LxFiM3.jpg

The above sample pic (from early last week) is one iteration behind; The final switch cable will have the 25cm cable length (I think the pic is about 40cm) and quite a bit less shrink tubing. They went a bit crazy on that for some reason, so I had to let them know that flexibility is kinda important for the cable. The sleeving is pretty generic grey, but that is ok, it will blend in. You can see their website imprint there. I'm not ready to endorse them, but so far they are responsive.

So the back of the case will look something like this:
xadT8yp.jpg


Other news:
The design is finalized (with a few sweet surprises to share soon), and there are now 52 sign-ups on the interest / pre-order list. So it looks like there is enough interest to move with a first run!!

To that end, I have set up my little business with the state, set up business banking, and have re-quoting underway. The pricing looked about as planned, appox $200, but I can't commit until I get new quotes back. The previous quotes had expired, and minor changes have occurred in the last few months, so I kinda had to redo this process.

I am working on a formal pre-order form, and will get that out as soon as the quoting is solidified and I can give you clean pricing.

Fire!
Click to expand...

Looks really good, would you offer the same switch for the front? As much as I like the minimalist look I like having front usb and audio jacks, so might as well have the switch on front too. I do like the blue ring vandal. $200 is about what I figured, spent that on my Ncase with shipping. Hopefully you have some for sale soon.
 
Were you going to offer the option of buying both front panels with the case or buying either front panel separately?
 
rfarmer said:
Looks really good, would you offer the same switch for the front? As much as I like the minimalist look I like having front usb and audio jacks, so might as well have the switch on front too. I do like the blue ring vandal. $200 is about what I figured, spent that on my Ncase with shipping. Hopefully you have some for sale soon.
Click to expand...

I don't have the same switch on the front unfortunately. The front board contains the usb and audio jacks, and the lighted power switch with no cap on it. So all i can do there is add a custom button cap, not a whole vandal switch.
 
Brian_R170 said:
Were you going to offer the option of buying both front panels with the case or buying either front panel separately?
Click to expand...

Brian,
I have not seen much interest in getting both covers, so i do not plan to offer the plates ala carte. But there will likely be extras in the run, so im sure i could get you anothet.
 
Firewolfy said:
Brian,
I have not seen much interest in getting both covers, so i do not plan to offer the plates ala carte. But there will likely be extras in the run, so im sure i could get you anothet.
Click to expand...

Thanks, no need to do anything special. I'm more interested in the front panel with ports, but thought if they were both available, it wouldn't hurt to have the other panel just in case I ever re-purpose the system for the living room.
 
I said I'd have some surprises, well here is one:

Decided to go the way of so many customs and mods and mount hdd/ssds with 2 screws, blade style. Here is a quick screen grab of the model.
I allows you to mount the drives with 2 screws from the GPU side. I had been wondering about the stability but went ahead and drilled holes in my old prototype and mounted a HDD. Pretty sturdy, saves space and looks sweet.


l4tx1qw.jpg


I will still have the mounting locations for the tool-less HDD holders, but this is a nicer way to go.

Meeting with fab house this week to go over inspection methods and how best to run set-up/trial parts. before the main 30pc run.
 
Nice! Looks great.
Do you plan on doing a Kickstarter if the initial run proves successful? I think it'd be a great way to both get a ton of orders (who doesn't like profit?) and knock the price down.
I know I've asked before, just hoping there's some movement on that front. I'm just a little too broke to afford the $200. :p
This is hands down the most interesting case I've come across this year. I've been holding off my BH2 purchase to see how it goes.
 
dizmo said:
Nice! Looks great.
Do you plan on doing a Kickstarter if the initial run proves successful? I think it'd be a great way to both get a ton of orders (who doesn't like profit?) and knock the price down.
I know I've asked before, just hoping there's some movement on that front. I'm just a little too broke to afford the $200. :p
This is hands down the most interesting case I've come across this year. I've been holding off my BH2 purchase to see how it goes.
Click to expand...

dizmo,
Thx for the kind words man. Right now I don't have any grand plans, just looking to do a first run, and then we will see where demand takes it.
Pricing, pricing, pricing...It is tough to get the price down on an initial run. I'll be putting an update on the first page to explain where things are and how we are going to get some cases made.

Thanks,
Firewolfy
 
Firewolfy said:
dizmo,
Thx for the kind words man. Right now I don't have any grand plans, just looking to do a first run, and then we will see where demand takes it.
Pricing, pricing, pricing...It is tough to get the price down on an initial run. I'll be putting an update on the first page to explain where things are and how we are going to get some cases made.

Thanks,
Firewolfy
Click to expand...
Yeah, totally understandable I'm sure it's quite an undertaking.
I figured I wouldn't be in on the initial run, especially since the community is relatively small so getting a large order to lower the cost is more difficult.
I think if you offered a sample to some of the larger YouTubers for review before starting a campaign you'd see a lot more interest, especially as tiny cards come out. Maybe time it with the release of the Vega Nano or something. Still, that's a ton of work, even just setting up the Kickstarter!
I'm more worried that after the initial run there won't be another and I'll be SOL, left to stare at wickedly small SFF builds that are now unobtainable.
Either way, can't wait to start seeing some builds in this guy.
Have any plans to test how a Ryzen 5 would fare in this?
 
Hey Firewolfy ,

You had asked last year if anyone is interested in getting this case. I don't know if I'm still in the first batch or did you make a new list? I am still definitely interested with getting one. Thanks.
 
Twasjesto said:
Hey Firewolfy ,

You had asked last year if anyone is interested in getting this case. I don't know if I'm still in the first batch or did you make a new list? I am still definitely interested with getting one. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Yup, you are on the list, and one of the early ones. Thanks
 
--Below is an update I'm double posting here and on SFF--

Ok, quick update (itemized and all!) --
1) Waiting on power switch pre-production sample. Probably be a couple weeks.
2) I have the fabrication quote, as I mentioned before, and met with the fab house last week and went over all the drawings. Now waiting on a sample run quote which I expect this week.
3) Here is the planned nameplate on the back of the case, black anodized plate with laser etched lettering:
Po6ZU3u.jpg



4) And a side items
I found a good supplier to do a custom front I/O Board. So if this works out and timing works, the USB, audio and power button cables won't be 60cm long (std Corsair solution), but rather about 25cm. Waiting on pre-production sample in a couple weeks. Worst case, the custom board get incorporated on a later run.

5) And one more item: I did a bit of modeling and ended up with the thick alum plate moved up onto the top of the case, instead of the front. Maybe it's an idea, maybe not. Here are a couple renders and let me know what you think.
P5hAltw.jpg


rd0rCJx.jpg

Everything is brushed black anodized alum. Here the cover slides off the front as 1 pc:
dvoWu8Y.jpg


Thoughts?
 
For me top plate design looks more elegant than the first one. If there is a separate top plate, it might be the handle option like this.
tu200-22.jpg
.
 
Last edited:
I actually like the look of the last render with the bend around the top. Question, will the front IO cables be attached to the front of the case in the new design? If you go with the shorter version I am wondering about how far the case will be able to move away from the frame.
 
Firewolfy said:
dvoWu8Y.jpg
Click to expand...

rfarmer said:
I actually like the look of the last render with the bend around the top. Question, will the front IO cables be attached to the front of the case in the new design? If you go with the shorter version I am wondering about how far the case will be able to move away from the frame.
Click to expand...

Note the vertical rectangular cutout on the GPU side of the inner chassis, I would guess that is where the front I/O mounts, the ports are probably not actually connected to the wrap-around outer housing, they just poke through the front panel...?
 
Pro:

I think I do like the look of the front better with the rounded edges.

Con:

The idea of making your own front cover that was tossed around awhile back goes away.
There appear to be two small notches in the topmost edges of the sides. They almost negate the effort put into the elegant edge of the top panel.

Neutral:

What is the purpose of making the top plate so thick with this change? Just aesthetics to have the machined beveled edge?
 
I think I like it a tad better too. It being a vertical/standing case, the bends being veritcal seems to suit it. Perhaps that's better design language going forward. The top edges are a nice touch, sort of like having chamfered edges. Going off the second image there, If the legs are also on the shiny side (or alu) it almost looks like it belongs next to A/V equipment.

The contrast there in image 2 I like. Hmm really considering signing up even though it's all black for now.
 
Brian_R170 said:
Pro:

I think I do like the look of the front better with the rounded edges.

Con:

The idea of making your own front cover that was tossed around awhile back goes away.
There appear to be two small notches in the topmost edges of the sides. They almost negate the effort put into the elegant edge of the top panel.

Neutral:

What is the purpose of making the top plate so thick with this change? Just aesthetics to have the machined beveled edge?
Click to expand...

Brian_R170,
Thx for the feedback. Yeah, there will be those folds at the top edge. I don't think the 2nd render is quite right, the fold will be black anodized, so it won't shine like the render shows. But it will be there.

Thick top plate is to add some interest to the look.

Thanks!
 
Although I really love the look of the bend on the front of the case - much more elegant -, personally, I prefer the first render with the bend at the top, because of the same reasons Brian_R170 mentioned.

Nevertheless, the nameplate for the case looks amazing.
I hope everything with the fab house and the power-switch-production works as planned!
 
Brian_R170 said:
Pro:

I think I do like the look of the front better with the rounded edges.

Con:

The idea of making your own front cover that was tossed around awhile back goes away.
There appear to be two small notches in the topmost edges of the sides. They almost negate the effort put into the elegant edge of the top panel.

Neutral:

What is the purpose of making the top plate so thick with this change? Just aesthetics to have the machined beveled edge?
Click to expand...

As far as the 2 notches, here is what a full length flange would look like. An obvious fold, but uniform:
JYrXujxl.jpg
 
Is there really a need for the flange/fold at all? Can the top just attach to the interior frame instead of attaching it to the folded tabs from the sides? The interior frame looks like it already has flanges in the correct places. I'm assuming there is some underlying reason for making the front/sides/top attach to each other and being able to remove them as a single piece. Convenience for the builder? Manufacturing tolerances?
 
Brian_R170 said:
Is there really a need for the flange/fold at all? Can the top just attach to the interior frame instead of attaching it to the folded tabs from the sides? The interior frame looks like it already has flanges in the correct places. I'm assuming there is some underlying reason for making the front/sides/top attach to each other and being able to remove them as a single piece. Convenience for the builder? Manufacturing tolerances?
Click to expand...

Brian_R170,
Yes, the idea was to try to have the cover as one removable part. This was to try to reduce the screw count when removing and installing the cover, which is a trade off of course. And to make alignment a little easier.
If the thick panel is on the top and attached separately, it would probably want to be removed to work much in the case, so 8 screws total to fiddle with.

If we go with the baseline design, the thick aluminum panel is on the front (and attached separately with 4 screws), but there is no need to remove the front when working in the case, so there are only 4 screws to remove. Pretty sweet.

So pick your poison everyone, lol.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top